Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, , has criticised President for relying on claims made by United States President concerning the reported killing of a top ISWAP commander, Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, despite the Nigerian military having earlier declared the same terrorist dead in 2024.
Falana, in a statement issued on Saturday and titled “President Tinubu Should Stop Relying On President Trump’s False Claims On The Prosecution Of The Counter Insurgency Operations In Nigeria,” urged the Nigerian President to seek direct operational briefings from the Defence Headquarters instead of depending on foreign narratives regarding Nigeria’s counter-insurgency efforts.
According to Falana, Tinubu, as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, should verify the status of Abu-Bilal al-Minuki and other insurgents through Nigeria’s military authorities rather than relying on what he described as inaccurate claims from Trump.
The controversy follows renewed confusion over the fate of Abu Bilal Minuki, also known as Abubakar Mainok, after the Nigerian military had previously announced his death in 2024, only for both Trump and Tinubu to publicly announce his killing again in a fresh operation in 2026.
In April 2024, the Defence Headquarters listed Minuki among several terrorist commanders neutralised during military operations conducted between January and March of that year. Then Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, had identified him as a senior ISWAP figure killed during operations on February 21, 2024.
At the time, the military linked Minuki to insurgent activities around Birnin Gwari forest in Kaduna State and attacks along the Abuja–Kaduna highway. Buba had stated that Nigerian troops were intensifying intelligence-led offensives against terrorist hideouts across the country.
However, President Tinubu announced on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki had been killed again during a joint military operation involving Nigerian and United States forces in the Lake Chad Basin.
In a statement personally signed by the President, Tinubu described the mission as a major success in international counterterrorism cooperation, saying early assessments confirmed the elimination of the ISWAP leader and several of his lieutenants during an airstrike on his compound.
Tinubu also expressed appreciation to Trump for supporting the operation.
Trump, on his Truth Social platform, described Abu-Bilal al-Minuki as “the most active terrorist in the world” and claimed he was the second-in-command of ISIS globally. He stated that American and Nigerian forces carried out a coordinated operation that successfully eliminated the terror leader.
The conflicting announcements have since sparked debate over whether the insurgent commander was wrongly declared dead in 2024, later resurfaced under another identity, or whether intelligence failures affected earlier military assessments.
Falana’s comments have further intensified public scrutiny over the handling of information relating to Nigeria’s counter-insurgency operations and the government’s dependence on foreign narratives on national security matters.
